The Witch's Ghost

Two Hearts

Chapter 4: Two Hearts

6 years ago

"Happy birthday, Ellen!" Viola said happily to her friend. Ellen was 10 years old now, and Viola was 9. "I wasn't sure what to get you at first, but then I thought... Well, just open it!" She gave her a light-red box with baby-blue ribbon.

Ellen wore a curious stare as she cut the box open with scissors. Inside was a pair of flat, red shoes. "Shoes?"

"Yeah! I never see you wearing any shoes, and you always talk about your legs hurting, so I thought these could make your feet more comfortable."

Ellen picked up the right shoe and tried to put it over her foot. But there was a noticeable size difference. "They're too big for me."

"Yyyyeah..." Viola blushed and scratched her head. "The truth is, my friend Elizabeth bought those for me. I wasn't too fond of them, but I was afraid to tell her that... and since you use magic, I thought you could shrink them down to fit you. I'm sorry if you wanted something... better." She frowned.

Ellen smiled, deciding to confirm Viola's theory by putting both feet into the larger shoes, and shrinking them with a tap of her fingers. They fit to a perfect size as she stood up and walked around. They had a comfortable padding, and Ellen felt less pressure under her feet with each step. "They're not bad." She smiled honestly. "I never really needed shoes, though... I mean, it's not like I go outside."

"Oh." Viola looked away, still frowning. "Actually, I was thinking... we could also go outside today."

Ellen turned to her, a little surprised at her statement. She narrowed her eyes and looked down at her shoes. So that's what she was expecting. The outside, where Ellen was powerless. Instead of inside this house, where Ellen had total control. Not that she expected Viola to try anything...

Present time; Her Room

But that's why she didn't wanna go out, wasn't it? She looked down at Ellen's bare feet, once so pretty despite her illness, but were now stripped of their peach color, now red and purple, barely keeping her standing. Not that Viola could look at them in any fashion except for auras. What a terrible friend Ellen was. A lying, unfaithful, horrid incarnation of a demon. Any feeling Ellen could feel was an illusion, and she could feel nothing towards anyone else. All of that love Viola gave her, all those gifts, Ellen was a cruel and selfish witch. She would feel helpless outside, she was afraid to step out, she couldn't, for five seconds, be under Viola's protection and power, instead she always had to keep Viola helpless. That trust she felt for Viola was false, for seven years, she just enjoyed playing Viola like a card.

And now Ellen had the nerve to return to her house in a hopeless attempt to tell Viola to back off. But Viola would make her regret everything she's done. The moment she forced Ellen to give her body back, Viola would walk away from this house and never return. Let Ellen stay in the place where she was powerful, in the despair she created. She took relish in the idea, of Ellen, staying here, in pain, alone. . . . forever.

Floor 3

Ellen made it to the entrance of Floor 3, facing the familiar hallway where swords fly at her out of midair. She took a breath and began to march down—a sword flew at her from behind, she dodged right, dodged left, jumped a sword—she dashed forward, a swarm of swords in a zigzag alignment chased her with great speed, she kept within the safe center as she ran. The swords had gone past—they came from the front now, Ellen swiftly dodged them going forward. A chunk of the floor was missing, Ellen jumped and ran along the wall, landed on the other side, then ran along the left wall to cross another gap. A team of swords dropped from the ceiling, but Ellen had bolted into the door and escaped death. That sure was one hell of a long hallway. Ellen said this before, but if there was anything to love about Viola, it was her healthy, agile body.